Commercial Sexual Exploitation Prevention Coalition

Coalition Zeroes in on Sex Trafficking

Young girls are often the most innocent and vulnerable members of our society, yet every day hundreds of them are sexually exploited. Sadly, Atlanta is a one of the largest hubs for human trafficking in the country. Boys and girls, some as young as 12 years old, are forced to have sex against their will. They’re often abused, deprived and humiliated.

As a father of a teenage daughter, I cannot imagine what these girls must endure. The county is now actively working to stop human trafficking. Last fall, the Board of Commissioners passed a resolution declaring sex trafficking as a public health crisis and established a coalition to fight the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC).

Our goals:

Expand awareness of the crisis

Identify victims and decrease the number of cases through education

Continue advocating state legislation to increase penalties for trafficking and make pimping a felony

Urge voters to support a referendum this fall to establish a Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund that would fine convicted traffickers. The money would be used for physical and mental health care, housing, education and job training for victims.

Georgia’s Attorney General calls human trafficking a brutal, complex and widespread crime. Our county is working with his office and scores of organizations – police, civic groups, social service agencies and child advocates — to address the crisis. We are determined to speak out for the voiceless victims, raise awareness and protect our children.